Hannah Adamaszek

A lot freer.

When I started painting again, I was ashamed to tell people. I was scared of what they might think of it. But when I first started showing my work, everybody was very excited and supportive. One little step after another, I began accepting the way people look at my work... I'm not ashamed anymore!

It took me a while to decide what I wanted to paint. I always wanted to draw people, but I didn't know if I wanted to do something more political, more engaged.

Two years ago, I took part in a brandalism project, which is like an anti-advertising campaign that focuses on what we need to change in society. The idea was to fight anorexia, because the media can affect women in an unhealthy way. I've also recently finished a project fighting against animal testing, where we took over 300 ads in the streets and replaced them with meaningful drawings. I do engaged projects like this when people ask me, but it's definitely something I'd like to do more.

I'm also a lot freer with my work now and I love experimenting with new things. For example, I try to use different techniques like acrylic and stencils. My paintings are becoming bigger and bigger which has led me to try my hand at street art. Now it looks like the best option for me, rather than painting giant canvases I can't get through the door...

Street art is quite new for me but I have to say I really enjoy it. It's a lot freer. You can paint anything you want anywhere you like and it gets to be seen by a lot of people.

I think I'm proud of what I'm doing now considering that I stopped all creative work for about 7 years. I couldn't have ever imagined that one day I would be doing my own paintings, showcasing them in galleries and websites, exploring street art and being able to put more and more messages into my work. I think being able to do this full time is exactly what I wanted so… I'm really really pleased!